Presently in a computer environment the screen or display on the computer has a plurality of icons and windows thereon. In a typical environment including a window and a pointing device, to access certain information it is important to point to and then click on a particular icon or window. Oftentimes, this type of environment is not efficient unless the user has a specific understanding of the particular nomenclature and syntax of the particular environment of the computer. Hence, a user that is not familiar with that syntax or nomenclature could become easily confused and spend a significant amount of time trying to understand how to navigate and access certain information. This can cause user frustration as well as create considerable inefficiency in the system.
The lack of a visual organizational paradigm for task-oriented user objects within 3D spaces, such as that found in virtual reality worlds using Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) on the Internet, makes it difficult to design 3D user environments for typical business tasks. Currently, users are on their own to navigate within the world and find positions that facilitate doing their work. Lacking a visual organization paradigm that designers can follow there are often no convenient viewpoints from which to view all of the objects the user needs to accomplish a particular task or set of related tasks. This causes an over reliance on navigating back and forth between viewpoints resulting in loss of productivity and user frustration.
There is currently no set of standardized distinctions or object classification scheme for use in a 3D environment in which useful work is accomplished. Ease of use and productivity will be crucial aspects of making 3D user environments easy to use and productive in such an environment. Having a consistent scheme supportive of navigation and predictable object interaction is extremely important.
What is needed is a system and method for enhancing the use of certain aspects of a 3-D environment where useful work is done on a computer display, without creating undue complexity. The system should be easy to implement and compatible with existing computer systems. The present invention addresses such a need.